MUMBAI: Lin Laishram has carved a path for herself in the Bollywood industry. The Manipuri beauty has appeared in films like Om Shanti Om, Mary Kom, Axone, and Rangoon.

The actress has won hearts with her onscreen charm and acting chops.

Lin has represented North East on a global podium, but her homeland isn’t as welcoming as it should be when it comes to accepting her as any other Indian, be it in reel or real life.

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The actress said that the North Easterners barely had anything to relate to when it came to Bollywood, with the rare ones badly done by wearing bizarre tribal costumes and talking gibberish. She said to media, “The only person that belonged to the North East was Danny Denzongpa but we couldn’t relate to him either because he spoke fluent Hindi which most of us didn’t.”

Further, Lin added that Bollywood needs to be more inclusive and normalise having North Easterners, not just as an ornamental or geographical representation, but merely Indians. She said, “The latest example of great inclusivity is The Family Man 2. In the show, people are cast from Tamil Nadu and speak Tamil, representing their local culture and ethnicity, and it has been so widely accepted and appreciated. So, if south Indian culture can be accepted then why not North Eastern?”

The COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to scores of North Easterners facing racism. Speaking of her most horrifying encounter to date, Lin Laishram said, “When I dropped off my parents at the airport and was heading back home, I was followed by two men who kept calling me ‘coronavirus’, to the point of physical aggression. It was really scary. I felt helpless and angry because there were a lot of people from the North East suffering in different ways. They were denied groceries, some girls were spat on the road, students were thrown out of their PGs and hostels. It was sickening to believe that we will be treated in such a manner in our own country.”

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CREDIT: PRAGNEWS